# Shelton's shot at ending 23 years of waiting

> An Atlanta lefty with a 240 km/h serve stands between American tennis and its longest drought.
- Title: Shelton's shot at ending 23 years of waiting · SI Mexico
- Summary: An Atlanta lefty with a 240 km/h serve stands between American tennis and its longest drought. No American man has won the US Open since Andy Roddick in…
- Keywords: tennis, us open, ben shelton, alexander zverev, grand slam, sports, Shelton's, shot, ending, years, waiting, SI Mexico
- Source: SI Mexico — https://si.com/mx/tenis/us-open-2026-ben-shelton-desafiara-a-alexander-zverev-en-la-final
- Published: 2026-09-12T05:29:47+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: tennis, us open, ben shelton, alexander zverev, grand slam, sports
## A final 23 years in waiting
Ben Shelton reaches his first Grand Slam final on Sunday against Alexander Zverev, chasing a US Open title American tennis has not held since 2003.
## He beat his friend to get here
Shelton, ranked ninth, lost the opening set to Frances Tiafoe and then took three straight: 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Tiafoe cracked with a double fault while serving to stay in it.
## Twenty aces and a plea
He fired serves up to 240 km/h past Tiafoe, then turned to the Ashe crowd and asked them to come back Sunday.

> Espero que el domingo vengan a apoyarme. Hagamos esto por Estados Unidos
## The draw cracked open
Sinner withdrew injured and Alcaraz arrived after four months off. Shelton knocked out Alcaraz in a quarter-final that ended at 3:30am, then won Montreal on the way in.
## Zverev is on a heater
The German cruised past Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6), saving two set points and clawing back both tiebreak deficits. It is his third straight major final.

> Estuve tan cerca tantas veces y quizás esta vez Dios dijo: 'Este va a ser tu año'
## Ghosts of 2020
At 29, Zverev is having his best season and could end it with more majors than Sinner or Alcaraz. He still has to bury the memory of blowing a two-set lead to Thiem.

> Era mi primera final de Grand Slam. No tenía experiencia. Todavía era un chico joven
## Key takeaway

No American man has won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Shelton is the first since 2024 to even reach the final.